The various editions of the Complete Works include a number of university press releases, as well as versions released from larger publishing companies. The Complete Works (especially in older editions) are often sought after by book collectors, and a number of binderies and publishing houses have produced leather bound and gilded releases for luxury book collecting.

Both mainstream and academic publishing companies have released multiple editions and versions of their own collections of Shakespeare's work, often updated periodically. Multiple editors contribute to the processes of laying out the Complete Works, and many times either the main editor, publishing company, or university's name is included in the title. (For instance, the Complete Works published by the Arden company is often referred to as the Arden Shakespeare, and the edition produced by Yale University called the Yale Shakespeare.)